Wedding Film-making Tips for Couples

Wedding celebrations might last for a week but memories don’t fade away for a lifetime. Flipping through those hundreds of pictures has its own charm. But how about moving beyond the traditional wedding photography and experimenting with the idea of wedding films. Be it brides twirling in a crimson red lehenga with the great Barrier Reef on the background or grooms telling candid tales of how they met the woman of their dreams, it all can now become a part of a film. Thanks to a bunch of wedding filmmakers who are infusing the elements Bollywood’s grandeur in their film-making style. From using drones to multiple cameras at the same time, filmmakers are all out and about pushing boundaries to give you some of the coolest moments from your wedding, captured in a film.

Intimidated about how to open up to this idea, we got you some valuable insights from Siddhartha of House On The Clouds Films. From the latest technological advances to the factors, one should consider before planning to work with a wedding film, he tells it all.

How did you come up with the idea of ‘House On The Clouds’ ?

Siddhartha: Around 2 years back we saw a growing demand for wedding films from a lot of our clients. At that time we were only doing photography and had no clue about films as such. Our first film happened in 2015 when one our clients asked us to shoot a film for him and that assignment got us involved in film-making to such an extent that we decided to form a separate company dedicated to wedding films only.

Wedding films are all the rage. Could you please tell us about the latest trends in wedding films/videos?

Siddhartha: Slow motion video is something which a lot of clients ask for. Then there are drones which are now standard in all destination weddings.

What are some things you suggest couples should look for while planning a wedding film?

Siddhartha: Every filmmaker has a particular style of presenting a story and a couple should be able to relate to that style. In India, most of the decisions are still based on pricing and this is the most common mistake couples make. A couple should go through the portfolio of the filmmaker thoroughly before signing them up.

How do you think the art of wedding videography has evolved over the years?

Siddhartha: Wedding films have gone through an exponential transformation over the last 3-4 years. From traditional 3 hours long video shot by your local studio guy to 25-minute cinematic films shot by a team of creative talents using production quality camera and other gear. The focus has changed from just shooting a wedding to presenting the story of the couple in a way that it can be watched again and again.

Weddings films that you make are very detail oriented. Could you tell us a little about your creative process?

Siddhartha: Our aim as wedding filmmakers is to present a wedding in a way that evokes emotions but also make it visually appealing. Small details add a lot of value to a film specially the sounds , like priests chanting, baraat’s dhol etc. These small things adds to the overall experience.

What is the most fascinating and annoying part of your job?

Siddhartha: The most annoying part of our job has to be post processing. Scanning through the footage from 4-5 cameras itself can take a week or two. Finding the right moments from 100+ hours of footage and matching them with appropriate music is a very long and tiring process. But this is also the fascinating part. You have the creative control to shape the film in the way you want since there is no script or rules to follow.

Tell us about a few of your memorable experiences with clients.

Siddhartha: Making a film gives us an opportunity to connect with so many people get to know their stories be a part of their families and most of the times we end up being good friends.

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